Advanced Search

Mourners gather for woman killed near UCI

Kendra Carraway, a high school basketball teammate of Monica Quan's, hugs a friend during a memorial vigil for Quan at Walnut High School on Monday in Walnut. Keith Lawrence, 27, and Quan were found shot to death in a parked car in an upscale Irvine condominium complex where the couple lived. Quan was the assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton.
(Patrick T. Fallon for the Los Angeles Times / February 4, 2013)

A circle of white candles brushed against the steps to Walnut High School Monday night as classmates of a slain Irvine basketball coach huddled together, sharing memories and tears.

Jaemy Oda made her best friend, Monica Quan, a poster with Michael Jordan outlined in the background — a mutual hero for basketball players who were close for more than two decades.

"She was like my big sister," the West Covina resident said as she stood wrapped in a blue blanket at the memorial.

About 40 friends and classmates met at the school's main entrance holding candles, as Irvine police continued to investigate the slaying of Quan and her fiance Keith Lawrence, whom a passerby discovered slumped over in Lawrence's white Kia Sunday night.

Authorities say results from autopsies on the two won't be ready until Wednesday. They were each shot dead, and authorities said they have tentatively ruled out robbery and murder-suicide.

The couple recently moved into the condominium complex adjacent to UC Irvine at 2100 Scholarship, according to police, which neighbors described as secure with cameras and key codes needed to enter the parking area. The top level where authorities discovered Lawrence and Quan's bodies was reserved for guests and residents who needed extra parking, residents said.

Lawrence worked at a campus officer at USC, while Quan coached women's basketball as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton. Lawrence was a standout basketball player from Moorpark High School, and Quan still held Walnut High's record for three-pointers. The two began dating about four years ago after meeting at Concordia University, where they both played basketball and earned their degrees, according to Quan's aunt Nicki Lew.

Lew described Quan as an energetic and caring person, who looked forward to planning her wedding next year.

"Monica is like the daughter we never had," Lew said.

She recalled receiving the news of Quan's engagement Jan. 26. The two played phone tag all day, although she instantly guessed the good news, blurting out, "You're getting married!" before Quan could even utter the words.

Lew said anytime she saw something red and black — Quan's favorite colors — or basketball-themed she would buy it for her niece. On Monday Lew spotted basketball-shaped chocolates she bought for Quan sitting on the dryer in her home.

"I went, 'Oh my gosh. I won't be able to give her these,'" she thought.

Oda said she most recently saw Quan and Lawrence after Christmas, and said they seemed happy.

"They were great," Oda said. "They were happy."

Police ask that anyone with information call a tip line established at (949) 724-7192.

Facebook comments are not regularly monitored by Daily Pilot staff. If you believe a comment violates any of the below rules, please email Editor John Canalis at john.canalis@latimes.com and Web Editor Ann Haley at ann.haley@latimes.com. Staff will review and remove offending comments during working hours, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Daily Pilot reserves the right to remove, block or refuse any comment for any reason. When posting to DailyPilot.com, you agree to not provide comments that:

* are defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violate the privacy rights of any third party, are unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community.

* discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refer to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.

* "flame" any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or make derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeat prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.

* violate or encourage the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance.

* advertise, promote or offer to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.

*contain copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind without the express permission of the owner of that material.

* violate any right of dailypilot.com or any third party.

* upload or transmit viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files, material or code.